Many casual users of federated search criticize the technology for being slow to retrieve results. Serious researchers recognize the unique ability of federated search engines to mine the deep Web for quality science information that Google cannot find. These users recognize that there is no practical alternative to federated search for the best information.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Such is the justification and hope for visualizations. Examples of enlightening visualizations are structural models of molecules like the carbon-60 Bucky Ball used in OSTI’s recent YouTube video. The model shows a carbon atom at each intersection of molecular bonds.

“World Wide Science is the world’s most important scientific resource, where the global science community can share knowledge.” This remarkable encomium did not come from just any casual observer, but from a leader of one of the world’s top information organizations. While interviewing with Information World Review, Richard Boulderstone, director of e-strategy and information systems at the British Library, shared this perspective.

A term of art now catching on is “e-Science.” According to Wikipedia, “The term e-Science (or eScience) is used to describe computationally intensive science that is carried out in highly distributed network environments, or science that uses immense data sets that require grid computing; the term sometimes includes technologies that enable distributed collaboration, such as the Access Grid. The term was created by John Taylor, the Director General of the United Kingdom's Office of Science and Technology in 1999 and was used to describe a large funding initiative starting in November 2000. Examples of the kind of science include social simulations, particle physics, earth sciences and bio-informatics.”

There was good news coming from the University of Tennessee (UT) and the State of Tennessee in 2009! A $1.8 million grant was announced that will help put more math and science teachers into Tennessee schools! This program, called VolsTeach, is designed to meet the increasing need for more math and science te